According to Bayo Onanuga, his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to return to Nigeria today after being away for about two weeks.
Onanuga wrote, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will return home today,” in a brief post that was uploaded on Monday.
Prior to this, the Presidency had promised Nigerians that even though the President was abroad, he was still actively involved in national administration.
“The President left Paris for London over the weekend and has been in close contact with key government officials, overseeing important national matters, including directives to security chiefs to address emerging threats in some parts of the country,” Onanuga said in a statement issued last Thursday.
Tinubu’s vacation was brief and “in line with the communicated timeframe of approximately two weeks,” he said, adding that he would return on April 21 following the Easter holidays.
“The President’s dedication to his responsibilities is steadfast, and his administration is still running smoothly under his direction.
“We acknowledge public concerns and reassure all Nigerians that governance will continue as planned,” the statement continued.
On April 2, 2025, Tinubu left for Paris for what the Presidency called a two-week business tour.
The goal, according to Onanuga, was to “evaluate important milestones and evaluate his administration’s mid-term performance.”
However, as insecurity in some areas of the nation, especially in Plateau and Benue states, increased, opposition leaders criticized his protracted absence.
Given the rising violence, both Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, and former vice president Atiku Abubakar had questioned the president’s absence.
Atiku criticized Tinubu’s prolonged absence overseas, calling it “irresponsibility on the part of the APC-led government,” through his media assistant Paul Ibe.
Nigeria is burning—killings, attacks, and territorial loss occur every day—while Tinubu is away. It’s really concerning,” Atiku said. “Nigerians long for genuine leadership—someone who is present and involved.”
As the security situation worsened, Obi also encouraged Tinubu to return right away.
Over 150 Nigerians have died as a result of insecurity in the two weeks you have been away,” he remarked, referring to attacks in Benue, Borno, Zamfara, and the Plateau.
“I implore Mr. President to immediately halt his activities in France and return home to assume accountability by resolving these troubling issues,” Obi continued.
Bala Ibrahim, the APC’s Publicity Director, responded to the complaints by refuting assertions of a leadership void.
He asserted that the president is still in charge of the country’s affairs even while he is abroad.
Ibrahim pointed out that the security agencies had received orders from the President and that He was still well represented by the vice president.
“You can’t claim that a nation is in a vacuum when the vice president actively represents the president.
He asserted, “A nation with that degree of leadership engagement is not leaderless.”
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